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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780767015585
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 0767015584
Label: A&E Home Video
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: A&E Home Video
Release Date: November 30, 1999
Running Time: 100 minutes
Sales Rank: 28373
Studio: A&E Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: October 31, 1999
Editorial Review:
Description:
The Marquis de Rochambeau and his daughter, the beautiful Young Helene, have been forced to flee the ruthless Gabrielle Damiens–Madame Guillotine. The Marquis begs Blackeney and his wife, the Lady Marguertie for help in rescuing young Helene. It should be an easy job for the talented Scarlet Pimpernel, but his old nemesis Chauvelin has been enlisted by the government to find the girl as well!
Amazon.com:
The Scarlet Pimpernel is 'the noblest, bravest man alive,' if he does say so himself. And he does. But in this second made-for-cable Pimpernel adventure, it will take all of his cunning, wit, and charm to keep his head while all others around him are losing theirs to the dreaded Mademoiselle Guillotine.
Improbably recast as a swashbuckling hero, esteemed character actor Richard E. Grant (of the cult classic Withnail & I) once again rises to the occasion as foppish British aristocrat Sir Percy Blakeney, who leads a secret life as 'the damned, elusive' Scarlet Pimpernel. As civil war rages, he is compelled to rescue the Marquis de Rochambeau's daughter Helene before she is found by Gabrielle Damiens (played with diabolical relish by Denise Black), better known as Mademoiselle Guillotine. The Mademoiselle is a formidable villain. 'Search this brothel,' she orders at a convent. To one trembling victim who won't tell her what she wants to know, she threatens, 'In a little while, you'll want to tell me,' emphatically adding, 'Want to!' Meanwhile, the Pimpernel's adversary, Chauvelin ('It's a long and tedious story,' Sir Percy remarks for those who missed Book 1), is in disgrace, but is recruited by Robespierre to also locate Helene.
Some who were otherwise Pimpernel fans found Elizabeth McGovern as Blackeney's wife, Lady Marguerite, to be about as welcome as Jar Jar Binks in Phantom Menace. But in this installment, she knows of her husband's secret identity and accompanies him. She and her 'naughty tongue' are good company. Unlike Richard Lester's rollicking Three Musketeers films, there is not the slightest hint of tongue-in-cheek in this handsome production. The Pimpernel will ride again in Book 3. --Donald Liebenson
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Moderately Entertaining but Lacking Perfection
The Scarlet Pimpernel Box Set contains:
Disk 1 The Scarlet Pimpernel
Disk 2 Mademoiselle Guillotine
Disk 3 The Kidnapped King
I enjoyed watching disk 2 Mademoiselle Guillotine the most. It had a relatively easy-to-follow plot-line as well as interesting characters (and decent acting).
The other two episodes were too compacted in my opinion. They combined too much too quickly, leaving the viewer a bit confused (especially if the viewer is not familiar ... Read More
Rating:  - Books any child should read?
One reviewer here comments that the Pimpernel books are ones any child should read.
Well, not in the original perhaps: the Barnoness' original "Scarlet Pimpernel" book is blatently anti-Semitic in the very "best" English uppercrust tradition of the sixteenth-twentieth centuries. In order to appear harmless and keep the villain at arms length, the hero disguises himself as a typical old dirty grasping servile cowering cowardly Jew. Let the kiddies watch the videos instead.
Rating:  - Wonderful escapism...great story
Perfect when you want to watch something that takes you to a different time and place...romantic, exciting, idealistic, arch and classic.
Rating: - I Loved This Production. WONDERFUL!!!!!
I realize that this adaptation is not exactly authentic to Orczy's novel, however I LOVED IT. I feel that A&E/BBC productions are brilliant. This version of Pimpernel is decadent, spicy, fun and hilarious. Watch with an open mind and enjoy.
Rating: - Wildly Entertaining
Although no mysteries of life will be revealed in this series, it was entertaining beyond belief. Mr. Grant added a dimension that was unique: he was all the Pimpernel should be and incredibly charismatic. All the acting was excellent, but his stood out in particular since he embodied the hero so well and was so charming. I will miss not being able to watch more of this excellent actor. Someone in an earlier review criticized him as not being their idea of a leading man. To me, he was one of the best leading ... Read More
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